Stage Fright
I have just come back from ten days at the Key West Literary Seminar. It was an intense experience of being submerged in writing. This year's theme was The Hungry Muse: An Exploration of Food in Literature. It was like the seminar was designed just or me. I was excited to hear authors who I had read for years speak. I had my favorites to listen to. I was attending partly as an author but more so as a fan.
(All photos courtesy of The Key West Literary Seminar and photographers: Ian Rowan, Nick Vagnoni, Michael Blades, and Meghan Capozzi)
There were big names there: Ruth Reichl from Gourmet Magazine, David Gopnik from The New Yorker, Frank Bruni from The New York Times and Madhur Jaffrey, the actress and asian food authority. But, there were also new names to me, authors I had not read before.
The first session was sold out and as we all filed into the majestic San Carlos Institute I couldn't help feeling awestruck.
But then, something strange happened. Over the first weekend, as the presenters spoke, my loyalties began shifting. It wasn't that my well-written favorites didn't have anything interesting to say; it was that they were flat on stage. Others came to life.
Molly O'Neill had me laughing out loud and Diana Abu Jaber sent me straight to the bookstore to buy her books. They were inspiring on stage and represented their work brilliantly.
It was a fabulous seminar of discovery and information. But, it scared me.
SEAsoned, my second book about being a yacht chef has just come out. I have a publicist who is working hard at getting the book into as many hands as possible. One of the marketing gigs she is setting up is book signings. I will be standing up in front of a group of people and talking about my book.
Gulp!
What if I am one of those flat presenters? I already get nervous and stumble when reading my work in my critique group…and they are my friends. I don't want to get up and just read, I find that boring. But what to talk about? And how do I sound engaging and inspiring?
I decided I better do some research on speaking in front of a crowd. Here are the tips I found:
1. Preparation is key – Know what you will speak about and thoroughly explore what you want to say. Knowing what you want to talk about is better than a rehearsed speech that can sound stilted or worse fumbly if you forget your next line.
2. Don't force jokes – If humor does not come naturally, do not attempt it. Speak in your natural cadence and pattern. Be yourself!
3. Think positive thoughts – I can do this! I can do this! Condition yourself to think encouraging thoughts and you will not seem nervous.
4. Connect with your audience – Speak with feeling and emphasize points that you feel passionate about to include the audience in your talk. Emphasizing key ideas will make people sit up and listen closer. Adding emotion to your talk draws people in. Make eye contact with as many people as possible.
5. Look your best – As un-politically correct as it is, people respond better to well groomed people. Plus, you will feel better and more confident.
6. Talk slowly and clearly – Take a deep breath and talk with the audience instead of racing through your words. Fast-talking may get you out of the spotlight quicker but is painful and detrimental to your promotion.
7. Find a friend in the crowd – Speaking to one person about something you believe in is much easier. Pick someone and have a conversation with them (one-sided of course) It will make your talk sound so much more natural.
8. Greet the audience – Shaking hands as people arrive and speaking to everyone beforehand makes you feel like these are your friends. Contact with individuals puts you at ease. Remember all the people are there because they want to be. They want to support you.
9. Relax – Smiling and relaxing will automatically make you more engaging in front of an audience.
10. Have fun – Enjoy this time. If you have fun with your talk then the audience will too!
The funny thing is, that when I teach cooking classes or talk about food I am completely confident. I can talk for hours and be engaging. But, when it comes time to talk about my books, I get nervous and tongue-tied.
Does this happen to you? Do you have any tricks to ease the embarrassment of talking about your work?
Victoria Allman, author SEAsoned: A Chef's Journey with Her Captain, has been following her stomach around the globe for twelve years as a yacht chef. She writes about her floating culinary odyssey through Europe, the Caribbean, Nepal, Vietnam, Africa and the South Pacific in her first book, Sea Fare: A Chef's Journey Across the Ocean.
Victoria is a columnist for Dockwalk, an International magazine for crew members aboard yachts. Her column, Dishing It Up, is a humorous look at cooking for the rich and famous in an ever-moving galley.
She also regularly contributes tales of her tasty adventures to Marina Life Magazine and OceanLines.
You can read more of her food-driven escapades through her web-site, www.victoriaallman.com
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